Greek and Egyptian dreams in two Ptolemaic archives
Individual and cultural layers of meaning
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3900659 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory Shushan |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 129-142 |
| Publication date | 2006-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Dreaming (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1053-0797 • E-ISSN: 1573-3351 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/1053-0797.16.2.129 |
| OpenAlex | W2168936658 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
A cultural comparison is made of dreams in the archives of an Egyptian (Hor) and a Greek (Ptolemaios) in second-century BCE Egypt. The content of the dreams is discussed with reference to actual events in the lives of the dreamers as known from their archives and to ancient Greek and Egyptian dream books. The possible social phenomena which might account for differences and similarities between the dreams are discussed. It is found that the dreams in Hor’s archive generally reveal a stronger cultural layer with a deep immersion in a specifically Egyptian environment. In contrast, those in Ptolemaios’ archive generally have a stronger individual layer and are more concerned with personal struggles reflecting social and economic factors. This article attempts a cultural comparison of the dreams in the archives of two second-century BCE inhabitants of the Sarapieion at Memphis, a religious complex renowned for oracular consultation, dream-interpretation, and dream-incubation; 1 and named after the Graeco-Egyptian deity, Sarapis. These two archives contain the only extant collections of personal dreams together with associated documentary texts from the entire span of roughly 3,500 years of ancient Egyptian history. 2 The fact that they are contemporary and belonged to individuals with different cultural
Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Psychotherapist · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Psychology · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |